GAZ-23

The GAZ-23 at a glance

The GAZ-23 belongs to a long tradition at GAZ. According to the old 1cars text, since the 1930s the plant had built small batches of faster versions of its mass-produced saloons for official use. The GAZ-23 applied that idea to the GAZ-21, which had been in production since 1956. It was never sold to private buyers. Its role, in documents of the time, was that of an "escort car": a vehicle that could follow official motorcades and, if needed, keep up with anything on the road.

Why GAZ built a V8 Volga

By the late 1950s the standard Volga, with its 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, offered too little performance for escort work, while the Chaika limousine was a much larger car. The GAZ-23 combined the Volga body with the Chaika's drivetrain. Work on the faster Volga started in 1959 in a group led by B. Dekhtyar, and the first cars left the plant in 1962.

The brief was demanding. The car had to look like an ordinary GAZ-21, carry a full load of passengers and equipment, and cope with long runs at high speed. Fitting a large V8 into a body designed for a four-cylinder engine needed a series of changes, from the engine sump and exhaust manifolds to the front cross-member, radiator and brakes. GAZ built the cars in small batches alongside regular Volga production until 1970, when the GAZ-21 itself was replaced by the GAZ-24.

The Chaika V8 under a Volga bonnet

The engine came from the GAZ-13 Chaika: an overhead-valve V8 of 5.5 litres (5,522 cc; some sources round it to 5.53 litres) with a four-barrel carburettor. Published ratings for the GAZ-23 differ. The Chaika's engine is usually quoted at 195 hp (about 143 kW) on the gross standard of the time, while other sources give the GAZ-23 version 160 PS (118 kW). Even the lower figure is more than twice the output of the standard Volga engine.

The V8 was not a straight transplant. The old 1cars text describes a new oil sump, reworked exhaust manifolds and a notch in the structure to clear the right-hand exhaust pipe. The engine was mounted with a slight tilt, about 2 degrees along the crankshaft axis, to keep enough clearance from the steering column and the chassis parts. The front engine mountings were made specially for this car, with identical left and right pads.

The cooling system was enlarged to match. The GAZ-23 used a larger radiator based on the Chaika's, together with the Chaika's water pump, an oil cooler and adjustable radiator shutters. It ran on high-octane petrol, which the old 1cars text lists as grades of 93 to 98 octane.

Automatic gearbox and chassis

The GAZ-23 took the three-speed hydromechanical automatic from the Chaika, a design similar in principle to Chrysler's PowerFlite. In the Chaika it was operated by push buttons; in the GAZ-23, according to the old 1cars text, a lever on the steering column selected the modes. In drive, the gearbox changed from first to third depending on road speed and how hard the accelerator was pressed.

The chassis was strengthened throughout. Extra steel strips were welded to the front side members, the springs were reinforced and the brakes were redesigned to handle the greater weight and speed.

How to tell a GAZ-23 from a GAZ-21

From the outside, very little gives the car away; that was the point. Most body panels are shared with the GAZ-21. The differences become clear only when the bonnet is opened: the radiator surround, both radiator mudguards and the inner bonnet stiffener are unique to the GAZ-23. The horizontal panel behind the front bumper has cut-outs for the radiator shutters, and the radiator casing is stamped to give access to the indicator relay.

Inside, the GAZ-23 copies the GAZ-21: the large three-spoke steering wheel, the tall speedometer, a radio and a clock. One detail is its own. The boot release handle sits between the rear seat cushion and the backrest on the right. It is placed so that the boot can only be locked when the right rear door is closed, a measure intended to stop crews leaving the boot open by mistake.

GAZ-23 compared with the standard GAZ-21

The comparison explains the car's reputation. With up to about 143 kW (195 hp) and roughly half the acceleration time of the four-cylinder Volga, the GAZ-23 was among the fastest saloons in its country in the 1960s. The GAZ-24 versus GAZ Volga comparison follows the same line into the next generation.

GAZ-23 variants

The variant list comes from the old 1cars text. Production figures for each version are not published. The idea continued after 1970: GAZ also built V8-powered versions of the GAZ-24 for the same users.

Production, survival and collecting

The 603 cars built over eight years make the GAZ-23 one of the rarest production Volgas, and an original car with its V8 and automatic is a find. Today most survivors are in museums and private collections, and they rarely change hands. Other cars from the same era are covered in our list of the best Soviet classic cars.

For a collector, the key questions are originality and documentation. Check the unique front-end parts, the engine mountings and radiator surround, and whether the car still has its V8 and automatic gearbox. A later V8 swap into a standard GAZ-21 does not make it a GAZ-23, so the body details matter as much as the engine. Parts for the engine and gearbox are shared with the Chaika, which helps, while body parts are shared with the GAZ-21. More of the plant's cars are listed in the GAZ catalogue, and the wider story is in the history of GAZ.